Editor's note: The following is a “blow-by-blow political strategy script” memo written by Milwaukee Alderman Robert Bauman to Republican Wisconsin gubernatorial candidates Scott Walker and Mark Neumann regarding their opposition to high-speed rail in the state.
Memo to GOP Candidates for Governor
RE: Political Strategy re High-Speed Rail
Phase 1: Campaign
Continue relentless condemnation and ridicule of Milwaukee-to-Madison high-speed rail investment. Continue to emphasize that rail transportation is a socialist plot to rob Wisconsin residents of their freedom and sovereignty. Use rail as prop for all the evils of big government.
Avoid any talk about the billions of tax dollars spent on expanding freeways or the decades of public subsidies that have been directed to highway travel. Never mention the economic benefits of rail investments, the jobs these investments can create or the fact that many Wisconsin residents do not drive cars because of disability, age or economic circumstances. Never mention that gasoline prices may increase significantly in the near future.
Avoid any mention of the fact that the $823 million federal investment in high-speed rail cannot be redirected to freeway expansion or highway projects.
Remind voters that freeways are free and rail transportation will end civilization as we know it.
Phase 2: Inauguration (January 2011)
Lead off inaugural speech with solemn pledge to stop Milwaukee-Madison high-speed rail construction. Repeat evils of rail and emphasize that you will save civilization from the scourge of rail travel and the big government it represents. Repeat pledges to cut taxes and slash public services including corrections, aid to public schools, the University of Wisconsin system and shared revenue to all those cities incapable of living within their means. Make sure everyone understands that none of this cutting will include freeway expansion or highway building since cheap gas and free roads are a fundamental right of every true American.
Phase 3: Progress Report (news conference one month into administration)
With a very serious and somber tone report that over the last month you have asked the best legal minds in the state to find a way to stop Milwaukee-to-Madison high-speed rail construction and cancel all contracts let to date - but that the legal experts have informed you that it cannot be done unless the state agrees to reimburse the federal government for all funds expended to date and to reimburse the contractors for all the lost profits and cancellation penalties contained in their contracts. You report with great reluctance that construction must therefore proceed because the state cannot afford to stop construction. Be sure to emphasize over and over that this is the legacy of Jim Doyle who has saddled the citizens of Wisconsin with a multi-million dollar federal investment in new infrastructure. Finally, note that President Obama and big government are really to blame and that you did everything you could to stop this investment in Wisconsin’s future.
Do not mention the phone calls from the CEOs of the Wisconsin consulting firms and contractors who were awarded rail contracts and do not mention the fact that they urged you to keep construction moving forward because this project will employ thousands of their employees. Deflect any media questions about campaign contributions from employees of these consultants and contractors. After all, you know that these contributors are only interested in good government.
After the news conference, call your former campaign operatives, Charlie (Sykes) and Mark (Belling), to conduct phone interviews on their radio shows. Again, emphasize how angry you are in being unable to undo the high-speed rail project. Be sure to lay all the blame on Jim Doyle and President Obama. Don’t worry, Mark and Charlie won’t be too hard on you, for you know you are “their guy” and you can do no wrong.
Phase 4: Ribbon Cutting (January 2013)
Organize ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Madison train station. Make sure hundreds of workers who have been earning family supporting wages working on the rail line over the last two years are in attendance. They will be very appreciative.
Your remarks should emphasize that with gasoline prices at $6 per gallon and the Wisconsin unemployment rate at 12 percent, you are pleased that your administration was able to deliver this $823 million stimulus project on time and on budget. Read a long list of the jobs created by the project and the amount of wages paid to Wisconsin workers. Single out the Talgo factory in Milwaukee and congratulate the 300 workers who have built the six train sets that will begin operating in the Chicago-Milwaukee-Madison corridor. Be sure to mention that the gleaming Talgo trains are a shining example of what private enterprise can produce when the restraints of big government are lifted from the entrepreneurial spirit.
Make a surprise announcement, to wit: that you have just signed a full funding agreement with the federal government to begin construction of the high-speed rail line from Madison to the Twin Cities. Emphasize the thousands of construction jobs that will be created and the economic development that will occur in Wisconsin communities along the line. Mention that this new line will make the Chicago-Milwaukee-Madison-Twin Cities corridor the economic engine of the Midwest and the five-hour travel time between Chicago and the Twin Cities will revolutionize travel within the state. Make frequent references to your priority of “jobs, jobs, jobs” and that your administration’s prime directive is putting Wisconsin residents back to work. Show that this project is all about jobs.
Following remarks board the train for the one-hour trip to Milwaukee. Sit down and enjoy the beautiful Wisconsin scenery, relax in the comfortable seat (check your emails using the on-board WiFi) and make repeated remarks about how smooth, quiet and fast the ride is (be sure to wave to the thousands of well wishers along the line, some of whom have been out of work since your inauguration and would love to work on the line to the Twin Cities). You might want to reference the blizzard that the train has encountered in Waukesha County just as lunch is being served (add humorous comments about Wisconsin winters). Point out how rail travel is a great all-weather mode of transportation (do not mention the cars in the ditch along Highway 16 that you see from the train window).
Upon arrival in Milwaukee (on time despite blizzard) repeat program.
In Milwaukee you may get some media questions about your campaign promises and your inaugural speech. Deflect the questions. Just point out that circumstances have changed and it is your responsibility as governor to get Wisconsin residents back to work and that is exactly what you intend to do every hour of every day. You might want to mention that we need to invest in our future and that we cannot rely on cheap gasoline anymore. Don’t worry though; no one remembers campaign promises or inaugural speeches anyway.
31 Comments
Dear Alderman Bauman; I wish I could just get a laugh out of this, but unfortunately you're hitting the nail on the head. By politicizing this issue and turning rail into a weapon in the class war our politicians have done a great diservice. Thank you for your continuing support of mass transit.
As long as the state can't get it's on fiscal budget in line, they should not be spending this kind of federal monies for a system that can't stand on it's own.
Step 1: Arrest Bob Baumann for spying and stealing campaign materials.
Step 2: Deny Mr. Baumann got "anything"
Step 3: Deny all the above, but stay on message. It's a winning message, afterall. Wisconsinites are afraid of choo choo trains.
Sparky, you would have a point - making systems pay their way. But no public road or transportation system pays its own way. The gas tax you pay at the pump does not make roads free; the road continues to be supported by a large portion of the local property tax. $1.4 billion in Wisconsin each year.
Mr. Baumann is a staunch supporter of this train line, so perhaps he'll have the answers for these questions.
- Specifically, what economic growth will this trainline spur? Other than the temporary jobs that will result from the construction of the line and the people that will work for the line.
- How will this trainline alter business practices so that they will add jobs as a result of this line?
- How will Mr. Baumann's constituents benefit from this line? Will it help them get a job?
- Which companies will locate here as a result of this line? Which will move away if we don't do this?
Hmmm...Baumann forgot to mention that this slow speed train will be a boondoggle, we can't afford to operate the train and it is not financially sustainable, that ridership will be miniscule, that the federal tax money being wasted on this boondoggle is our hard-earned money, that even at six dollars a gallon- a car will be cheaper than the train, the state government is broke, and that a majority of Wisconsinites don't want this long-term financial fiasco. But hey, I suggest all supporters of the slow-speed train campaign on how much of a good deal it is. While you are at it, make a pledge that you will resign your political office if the train doesn't meet its projections. Please step up - put your job where your mouth is.
PS-Roads are not subsidized when 99.9% of the population uses them. Trains are subsidized when only .1% of the population uses them with money taken by taxes on road users.
Good call. What if Wisconsin had a moron for a governor back in the 1950s and the state decided not to participate in the interstate freeway system - because the state would have to pay for maintenance? ... No trucks bringing goods to and from Wisconsin. No tourists coming to Wisconsin. We would be a swamp, a waste land. The high-speed rail thing isn't about Milwaukee to Madison. In the end, it's a national network. And it would be nice if we're a part of it. These two jokers running for governor are only posing for holy pictures to appease their tea party base. They know there isn't a thing they can do about high-speed rail. It's a done deal, clowns!
I got two words for the anti-train, anti-anything-that-represents-progress crowd ... "Choo." and "Choo." That always frightens them. LOL.When gas is $7 a gallon, maybe then they'll get a clue. But I doubt it.
One questions for you train huggers out there:
Can any of you answer any of Mr. Bark's questions? Maybe you could persuede us this is a good idea rather than calling us names. All we want is to have someone give us facts (not vague "it will create jobs") for the long term and if the facts make sense, most of us opposed would say "all aboard".
To the Messers Bark and Popek: I believe you know full well that those answers are easily obtainable by just putting down the keyboard and contacting the proper sources including but not limited to SERTA, SEWRPC and Ald. Bauman.
I further believe that genuine answers never satisfy skeptics who by nature cannot take "know" for an answer.
Mr. Popek, I'd say your plea to end namecalling might be diluted by calling those with whom you disagree "train huggers". This poll http://poll.fm/1r88o says "train huggers" are way in the majority.
Brilliant.
a. NOT a done deal until it is built. The fed cannot force a state to take the money.
b. Does anyone really believe asking for answers is too much of a burden?
c. Were we not told that a critical approach and possibly a dissenting opinion is the patriotic thing to do?
@Alderman Bauman, Nice... well done.
Ms. Jeffries,
I checked the sites you suggested and was unable to find the answers that I was looking for.
Here's an anecdotal one for you. If trains cause so much economic development, how come the Kenosha Metra station is essentially in the middle of nowhere? There's no economic development near that station that I've been able to discern.
Re-Bark's request for specifics- don't expect any. Not one of the many proponents for this on-coming train wreck that have editorialized or commented on it here in the Biz Times has ever provided specifics as to cost per ride, subsidy per ride, ridership, etc. It has all been fluff and name-calling. Is it any wonder that our federal and state governments are bankrupt when you have politicians and their supporters wanting to spend nearly a billion dollars, but don't have the intellectual honesty to specifically defend why we should spend such money?
For those of you looking for specific estimates and numbers...a very quick search will unlock a world of knowledge for you. Here is one such report from an official nonpartisan organization:
http://www.usmayors.org/highspeedrail/ (click download report for presentation)
The focus, however, should not be on the exact numbers, but rather the fact that these systems will perform to their greatest potential with integrated transit options within cities on the route. These maximize mobility and opportunities for mixed use development and economic growth.
Table 3. Operating Cost per Passenger-Mile
Bus LRT % Difference
($) ($) (%)
San Diego $0.38 $0.17 -55%
St Louis $0.66 $0.20 -70%
Los Angeles $0.48 $0.30 -38%
Portland $0.51 $0.35 -31%
Sacramento $0.53 $0.38 -28%
Dallas $0.74 $0.47 -36%
Baltimore $0.53 $0.48 -9%
But both way cheaper than Automobile costs per pass/mi
Purchase/amortization[a] 0.41
Fuel [b] 0.08
Insurance [a] 0.06
Repairs/maintenance [a,b] 0.04
Deductibles/incidentals [b] 0.03
Street/highway costs [c] 0.16
Parking costs [d] 0.47
TOTAL $1.25
Ironically, Bauman loves the trains, but hates the graffiti on the side of them.
Mr. Marsh,
I don't even need specifics regarding the subsidy and cost per ride. I'm ok with public transportation being subsidized so long as there's a lot of people using it.
My concern with this particular route is that hardly anyone will use it. Furthermore, at $66 per round trip, I can't see people who really rely on mass transit being able to afford this service. Certainly I do not see it as a line that will create jobs or encourage development. If a train station was such an economic boom why is there nothing around the Kenosha station and why are businesses in SE Wisconsin just as likely to locate in Waukesha as they are in downtown Milwaukee which has access to a train station?
The problem I have with this whole debate is that the supporters of the ine keep telling us what a boon this will be to the economy and why it is vital, yet they are not able to ever offer any specifics. They simply use the argument that those of us that have questions simply must not be as enlightened as they are.
RE- Jacob VP: Where are you getting your numbers?- see the following for automobile costs: http://www.aaaexchange.com/main/Default.asp?CategoryID=16&SubCategoryID=76&ContentID=353
As to your comparison- how about the cost of the inconvenience of having to drive to the train station, the cost of parking at the train station, the cost of taxis or other transportation at your destination, the time wasted waiting for the train and other transportation, the cost of dry cleaning when you get stuck in a rain storm waiting for the train or other transportation, etc., etc. etc.?
If trains were such a great economic, convenient, and time saving deal, you wouldn't have to cram them down our throats and consumers would be clamoring for them- but they are not because trains are generally an inconvenient form of transportation.
PS- I just saw that your numbers include bus transportation- good luck on selling the bus. We already have that option here in Milwaukee, and obviously nearly all the people that are financially capable of supporting the costs of a car want to drive a car. Maybe you can propose a law requiring everyone to ride the bus and/or train. That would be the big daddy leftist approach.
Some of you get so hung up on the Milwaukee-to-Madison thing. You're missing the point. You wouldn't judge the merits of the freeway system by the traffic of motorists who travel Milwaukee to Madison. You can't look at high speed rail that way either. It's Milwaukee to the rest of the nation ... and back again. High-speed rail will provide affordable, efficient, comfortable and green transportation. Besides that, we have fallen behind Japan, Europe and even China is building them like hotcakes. It's a global competitive advantage to build this system!
Mr. Banek,
Let's grant that this link to Madison is just the first link in providing a link to the rest of the country including Minneapolis. Again, how does this spur economic development? How does my accounting firm use this line to generate more economic development.
Also, who will use the train to Minneapolis? I can catch a flight there for around $140 round-trip on AirTran. Granted there can be issues with air travel, but the time of the flight is just over an hour and the cost is pretty similar to what we'd see the train trip cost assuming a trip to the Twin Cities would be double of what it would cost me to to take the train to Madison.
The questions I ask in my first response in this thread still apply.
Why is this a competitive advantage? Again, how does business utilize this line (or even the expanded line) to create more business?
Comparing us to Europe and China is not a great example either. For one thing, most areas in our country do not have the population density as those areas. For another thing, our interstate system is superior to what they have for roads in Europe. We also have a pretty good air travel system that allows us to travel great distances for pretty low costs.
Perhaps we need to dock every elected official's paycheck for the deficits created by this boondoggle (at least those who voted for it).
Mr. Bark,
I drove on the highways in Spain, France and Italy last summer and our interstate system is not better. Their highway system is smoother and allows higher speeds of travel than ours. Plus they have the option of HSR or air travel, as well as high quality local mass transit that allows them to do business at a lower cost than us.
While people here like to think they have everything better than overseas, the facts are that they continue to invest in their infrastructure while ours, which was built over 50 years ago, crumbles.
The people who don't believe in investing in a variety of options for infrastructure undermine the economic competitiveness of America. This is not the 1950's or 60's where the rest of the world was demolished from war. Europe and Asia have state of the art road, train and air infrastructure and they are using it to promote their economic growth.
Anecdotal: I visited Baltimore where they have a nice rail system. Unfortunately their rail stations were sparse and had no development in the outlying, suburban areas. Even more unfortunate; as we traveled through the city most stations were in severe decline economically. Some were down right scary. Using the rail in Wisconsin (yes we've had rail for over a century in Wisconsin) there is no more development at any of the stations than anywhere else. None.
It is safe to put the whole economic development theory to bed. Especially after every independent study shows the only development came on the coat tails of dramatic TIF incentive programs. Even then the development that came did not meet expectations.
Sparky said:
"As long as the state can't get it's on [sic] fiscal budget in line, they should not be spending this [sic] kind of federal monies for a system that can't stand on it's [sic] own."
Were you referring to the freeway system or rail? Because nobody seems interested in taking a hard look at what we spend on highways, and nobody seems to acknowledge the constant traffic jam->expand freeway->larger traffic jam pattern that has DEFINED urban freeways since they were invented. You want to talk boondoggle? Start with what the interstate system did and continues to do to city neighborhoods, and the number of taxpayer dollars poured into this system without a second thought.
Trains would be a lot more attractive if public electric cars were also available. Think http://www.betterplace.com meets http://www.zipcar.com .
You could get off the train, grab a high-efficiency electric car for the day, and go anywhere in the city.
It'll be better than waiting in line at the gas station to receive your monthly fuel rations (if you can get any at all in 10-20 years).
I would gladly vote for a Republican who's in favor of the future. (So far the only ones I've seen are Bloomberg and Schwarzenegger).
Mr. Bark,
"Also, who will use the train to Minneapolis? The time of the flight is just over an hour"
Ah, but your TOTAL trip time is MUCH more than an hour. Let's say you were traveling to downtown Minneapolis from Milwaukee. Since I don't know where your office is we'll assume travel time to the airport or to the train station to be roughly equivalent. However, if you fly you are supposed to be at the airport two hours before your flight leaves, whereas if you take the train you can arrive at the station 5 minutes before you departure time (I'm assuming you have purchased your train ticket in advance, just as you would an airline ticket). Then, when you get to Minneapolis, you have to wait for your luggage, and then rent a car, find a taxi or take the light rail downtown. The train, however, will drop you off right in downtown Minneapolis. Assuming a 3-4 hour train trip, travel time for both modes is pretty close to equal.
Of course, if there is bad weather (storms, snow), the odds of your flight being delayed (or canceled), is exponentially higher, possibly turning your "one hour trip" into a six, seven or eight hour trip, with the train still taking 3-4 hours.
YOU LIMBAUGH LOVERS.BARK LIKE A DOG. not everyone wants to go on your STUPID AIRPLANE. you don't add in the Post 911 Security Hassle, you talk about wasting time at the Station. how about wasting time at the STUPID AIRPORT. not all gates are that close to the Security Check in., take it from me. at the Minneapolis Airport it is over a mile down to the very last Gate, and likewise 3 miles from one end of the STUPID AIRPORT to the other side of the STUPID AIRPORT.before you make fun of Trains, prove your STUPID POINT. I HATE FLYING ON STUPID AIRPLANES.You are full of DISCRIMINATION! How about those that refuse to fly. oh I get it, they can take the Bus. what Stupid Bus. I TELL YOU WHAT. all of you that wants so and so that slaves for you to go on a stupid Bus, join them, tight space crowed, and so on. On a Train. you would have free high speed Internet. you would go from downtown to downtown. unless you're one of those that have your Business in the Burbs with no Transportation. How about the towns between the Twin Cities and Madison. how about making the trip faster from Madison into Chicago,. so what is going to happen when we have to rebuild Tollway I-90 going into Chicago, slow strict speed limit back up for miles, yes, it would cost Billions to rebuild those Interstates around Chicago. because the Conservatives wants to cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut Transportation. but then again wants to pay slave pay for those working class people that can't afford a car. and the Transportation cost sky Rockets. cause of cut backs, no thanks to the Bush Supporter Conservatives.
Mr. Marsh,
"how about the cost of the inconvenience of having to drive to the train station, the cost of parking at the train station, the cost of taxis or other transportation at your destination, the time wasted waiting for the train and other transportation?"
And how is this any different than the cost of the inconvenience of having to drive to the airport, the cost of parking at the airport, the cost of taxis or other transportation at your destination, the time wasted waiting for the airplane and other transportation?